Bitcoin Miners May See Profit Relieve As North American Heatwave Threatens Operations

Thanks to the summer heatwaves in North America, Bitcoin miners may begin to record a considerable increase in their revenue. This extreme weather condition is also expected to significantly impact Bitcoin’s hash rate. 

Bitcoin Miners To See Increase In Profit Thanks To Lower Competition

Bitcoin miners are expected to see an increase in profit because many may have to shut down or cool off their operations due to the extreme heat that usually occurs in North America during the summer. The United States (US) is known to be home to most Bitcoin miners, with data from the University of Cambridge showing that about 37% of Bitcoin mining takes place in the US.

This development is significant considering that Bitcoin miners were already facing a profit squeeze, mainly thanks to the halving event, which cut their mining rewards in half. Bloomberg reported that these miners could lose up to $10 billion in revenue following the halving event. As such, a reduction in the number of miners during this period will undoubtedly be a relief to others who see an opportunity to make up for some of the projected losses. 

These miners have also faced increased competition, which is evident in Bitcoin’s hash rate or computing power, which has continued to spike all through the year, reaching an all-time high (ATH) of 835.86 EH/s, according to data from CoinWarz. 

Blockware analysts also highlighted how the summer heat affects Bitcoin miners, claiming that heat mitigation is the “number one” operational challenge these miners face. The Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), the device these miners use for mining, is said to be capable of reaching “very high temperatures” without proper cooling measures.  

This situation tends to get worse during the summer months, with Blockware noting that many miners have to cut back their operations partly due to overheating. Residential energy consumption also reaches high levels during these summer months, enough to “activate demand response clauses in miners’ power purchase agreements.”

BTC To Face A Decline In Hashrate

Bitcoin’s hash rate is also expected to decline significantly due to the extreme heatwave in the US. Blockware noted that during the North American summer months, the hash rate stagnated or decreased in the past two years as miners curtailed their mining operations. 

These Blockware analysts predict another “summer of flat hash rate/difficulty growth” thanks to the heat-induced curtailments and the ongoing miner capitulation caused by the “crunched profit margins” from the halving event. Indeed, Bitcoin’s hash rate has been declining for a while now and is currently at 624.63 EH/s. 

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at around $65,400, down in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap. 

Featured image created with Dall.E, chart from Tradingview.com